Abstract
Two projects are described for children with Cerebral Palsy. The first one is a computer controlled radio car, CAR. This provided the inspiration for the solution needed in the second project — a remote control for a user with motor impairment. This resulted in a prototype controller box that we named Rico. It is a low cost device attached via the parallel port to any PC. It is capable of adapting to the infrared signals of most remote controls for domestic devices such as CD players, TVs and VCRs. Users with severe motor impairment can interact with a computer and through Rico have it mimic the action of the domestic remote controls. In first learning to use both CAR and Rico, we found it necessary to allow simultaneous interaction by the user and the teacher or occupational therapist. Therefore we have two humans in the HCI! The user who is motor impaired interacts via any one of a number of simple selection devices whilst the teacher uses the keyboard. In our case the users were teenagers severely disabled by Cerebral Palsy, who are confined to wheelchairs and are at the stage of just learning to read. The adaptability of the hardware and software would allow the use of Rico for a wide range of users suffering motor impairment through other causes.
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Jones, P.E. (1997). Computer-Assisted Remote Control for the User with Motor Impairment. In: Thimbleby, H., O’Conaill, B., Thomas, P.J. (eds) People and Computers XII. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3601-9_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3601-9_13
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